Valley River Park
Managed by Town of Andrews
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Andrews
Andrews has 42 acres of parks, 21 for every 1,000 residents
77% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Andrews’ land is conserved, about 52 acres. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Andrews, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
52 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
42 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
2,260 ft
Leatherwood Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Andrews?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Andrews have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Andrews is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Andrews’ overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (42 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home77% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ferebee Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
52 conserved acres
5% of Andrews’ land. Who manages Andrews’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Not recorded62 ac
Local Recreation Area · 51 acState Other or Unknown · 10 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County - Valley River Heritage Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Restricted |
| Town of Andrews - Andrews Recreation Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Town of Andrews - Andrews Softball Field and Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Town of Andrews Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
| Town of Andrews - Ferebee Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Andrews
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Andrews
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Andrews
Leatherwood Mountain2,260 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Andrews
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Football
1Soccer
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Andrews: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 53 | 61 | 70 | 77 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 80 | 71 | 60 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 5.8 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 5.9 |
October is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Andrews →
Questions about parks and trails in Andrews
How much of Andrews is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 3% for a North Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Andrews’ trails?
Valley River Park and Ferebee Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Andrews?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Andrews?
94,547 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Andrews or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 42 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Andrews have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Andrews neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →